Storm-apron for vehicles.



PATHITED JULY 3, 1906.

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APPLIDATIQII FILED JULY 29, 190B.

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HYVENTOR. Home C fien'raev ATTGRAEY WITNESSES:

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P ENT OFFICE.

HOMER O. BENNER, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA.

STOFIM-APRON FOR VEHlOLES.

No. 824,774. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 3, 1906.

Application filed July 29, 1905. Seriai his. $71,772.

To us whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HOMER C. BENNER, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at L81]: caster, in the county of Lancaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Storm-Aprons for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates that class of aprons designed to rotect the occupants of vehicles; and the ob ects of the invention are, first, to secure the inner edge of the a ron in an elevated position and so that sai edge need not be detached from its supports when either one or both sides thereof are moved forward to allow of ingress to and egress from the vehicle; second, to fprevent accidental movement by the wind 0 the elevated inner edge of the apron when in a backward or forward osition; third, to construct the apron so t 'at it may be adapted to fit snugly over dashboards of different lengths, and, fourth, to prevent entrance into the vehicle of rain or snow through the slot in the a ron through which the driving-reins ass. attain these objects bythe mechanism illustrated in the accompanyin drawings, which form a part of the speci cation, and in whichr Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the forward part of a vehicle having an apron attached thereto embed 'ng my invention, the apron being raised an the top of the vehicle removed. Fl 2 is a similar view, but with one side of the inner edge of the apron pushed forwardto allow of ingress and egress. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the manner of securing a guide-rod to a top rail of a vehicle having an inside covering for the bows, Fig. 4 is an elevation of the Inside of the dashboard, showing the manner of securing the apron thereto; Fig. 5, a transverse vertical section of the dashboard and of the front of the apron; Fig. 6, a perspective view of one end of the dashboar with a portion ofthe front of the apron free from the fastenn gstrap and turned back; Fr I, a horizontal section of one end of the ashboard andof.

the portion of the curtain attached thereto,

Fig. 8, a front perspective view of the art of the curtain having therein the slot t on h to improvements in enga ed directly with the shoulders.

which passes the driving-reins and of t e shield covering said slot, and Fig. 9 a transverse section on broken line A of Fig. 8.

Similar numerals indicate like throu hout the several views.

Refhrring to the details of the drawings, 1 indicates the body of a vehicle; 2, the dashboard; 3, the seat; 4, the the top rails 5, and 6 one ol the cross-pieces connecting the rails 5.

7 refers to the body of the apron, and 8 to the front thereof, which when in use is extendedover the top and down in front of the dashboard.

9 is a band securing the front of the apron to the dashboard. This band is bound in the central part of the front of the apron, as shown at 10, and the ends of said band are passed around the ends of the dashboard and uckled together behind the same at 11. The lower parts 12 of the front 8 of the apron are not secured to band 9, but are free therefrom and can be turned around the ends of the dashboard, so as to form art of the side flaps. 13 of the apron, to whio flaps the ends of front 8 are attached. Thus provision is made for using an apron with a dashboard shorter than that to which it was originally fitted.

To the'upper corners of the body of the apron are fastened straps 14, having on their outer ends snap-hooks 15, adapted to engage guide-rods 16. These guide-rods are located a short distance from and parallel with top rails 5. At its inner end each guide-rod is turned downward and then toward the ad- 'aceut top rail and secured thereto, thus orrni a shoulder 17. The outer end of each 0 the top rails is turned inward and parallel with cross pieoe 6, as at 18, and then forward and fastened to said cross-piece 6, forming a shoulder 19.

'When the inner end 20 of parts the apron is to be secured in a raised position, the snap-hooks are fastened to their respective guide-rods 16 "and then pushed backward into on agement with the shoulders 17 or said hoo s can be When it is esirable to open a side of the apron, the em. hook on" that side is moved along the e-rod and engaged with the forward shoulder 19. The engagement of the sna hooks with the shoulders prevents said hoo from being moved from t eir places by presosts supporting 6o sure of wind or any accidental pressure, whereby the apron might be moved from the position in which it was placed. It will be observed that when one of the snap-hooks is engaged with a forward shoulder 19 the curtain on that side of the vehicle is not only open for ingress and egress, but it also at the same time continues its protection of the seat, as shown in Fig. 2. The side flaps 13 of the apron are held down by straps 21, buckled or otherwise detachably secured to the bottom of the body of the vehicle.

In Fig. 3 is illustrated the manner of securing the guide-rods and forming the shoulders 22 Where it is necessary to attach the guide-rods to the under sides of the top rails. In this case the shoulders at the opposite ends of each guide-rod are formed alike.

Figs. 8 and 9 show the manner of binding the edges of slot 23 in the body 7 of the apron, wherethrough pass the driving-reins 24, and the construction of the shield or hood 25 for said slot. Around the edges of said slot is placed a Wire stiffener 26 for holding those edges fully open, and said wire is embraced by a reinforce or binding 27, the sides whereof lap the edges of the slot and are sewed to the material of the apron and to each other, thus securing the wire in lace. The ends of shield 25 are connecte with the body 7 of the apron by bellows-sha ed ends 28, permitting the whole lowere e of the shield to be raised by the pressure oi the driving-reins when drawn tight, thus allowing said reins to be moved freely from side to side in the slot. The shield extends considerably below the slot, thus at all times preventing the entrance of rain, snow, or the like.

I do not confine myself to the sha e or manner of forming the shoulders for ho ding the snap-hooks in place, nor to the construction of other various parts herein shown and described, as it is obvious that many alterations may be made therein without departing from the princible and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a storm-apron, a guide-rod having shoulders, and a device adapted to connect the apron with the guide rod, said device engaging one of the shoulders of said rod to hold the apron in a closed position and to engage another shoulder thereof to hold said apron in an open position.

2. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a storm-apron, a guide-rod having shoulders, and a device adapted to detachably connect the apron with the guide-rod, said device engaging one of the shoulders of said rod to hold the apron in a closed position and to engage another shoulder thereof to hold said apron in an open position.

3. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a storm-apron, guiderods secured in the upper part of the vehicle and having shoulders formed on the ends thereof, and hooks connected with the inner end of the storm-apron and attaching said apron to the guide-rods, said hooks being adapted to slide along the guide-rods and to engage the shoulders at either end thereof.

4;. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a storm-apron, guiderods secured to the upper rails of the top of the vehicle, shoulders formed on the front and back ends of the guide-rods, and snaphooks adjustably connected with the inner end of the storm-apron, said hooks taking around the guide-rods and being ada ted to slide thereon and to engage the shou ders at the ends thereof.

5. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a storm-apron, guiderods parallel with and secured to the u er rails of the top of the vehicle, shoufdgrs formed on the front and back ends of the guide-rods, straps on the inner end of the apron, and snap-hooks adjustably connected with said straps, said hooks taking around the guide-rods and being adapted to slide thereon and to engage the shoulders on the ends thereof.

6. The combination, in a device of the character described, of the dashboard, a storm-apron having the front thereof lapping the front of the dashboard, a band bound in the central art of the front of the a ron, the ends of the fiont of the apron being fi'ee from the band, means for securing the ends of the band on the inner side of the dashboard, guide-rods parallel with and secured to the upper rails of the top of the vehicle, shoulders formed on the ends of the guide-rods, stra s on the inner end of the apron, snaphoo s adjustably connected with said straps, said hooks taking around the guide-rods and bein ada ted to slide thereon and to engage the s oul ers on the ends thereof, side flaps on said apron, and means for detachably securing the flaps to the lower part of the body of the vehicle.

7. The combination, with a storm-apron of the character described having aslot there in Wherethrough the driving-reins may pass, of a shield having its upper edge secured to the storm-apron above the slot and covering said slot, and bellows-shaped ends on the shield and connecting the ends of the shield with the said a ron.

8. The combination, with a storm-apron of the character described having a lut, wherethreugh the drivin -reins may pessi of e rigid stiffener around t e edges of the s 04;;

a reinforce or binding embracing said stiffener end securing it to the edges efthe Skit a shield having its 11 per edge secured to the sterm-apron above tiie slot and covering said islet, and bellows-shaped ends on the shield and connecting the ends ef the shield with said anion.

HOMER U. BENNER. Witnesses:

T. ROBERTS APPEL, WM. R. GERHART. 

